Retired Air Force Brigadier General Robert Lovell testified Thursday that the State Department "didn't come forward with stronger requests for action" in Benghazi while he served in the U.S. Africa Command's headquarters in Germany.
Lovell, speaking before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, testified U.S. military personnel knew early on that the terrorist attack was a "hostile action" and not a protest gone awry, according to USA Today.
Full exchange:
JIM JORDAN: What, specifically, had the State Department done or said that prevented you from doing -- I don't care about -- we know this is unique in that it was a little different the way it was set up, but still when that happens, you still react the way you're supposed to react, the way the military always react, and yet you couldn't. What specifically did the State Department -- what have they done or what prevented you from doing that?
ROBERT LOVELL: Well, it's not what they did in that particular situation. It's what they didn't do. They didn't come forward with stronger requests for action.